Within the quiet hamlets and serene villages of the great Kingdom of France, the ground begins to quake.

Armies at the gates. Disease within the walls. Plague everywhere.

In ancient chronicles and lengthy scripture, the wise men look for answers.

There are none. Whatever drives this plague, it is not for us to answer.

This swarm, this unnatural amalgamation of biting teeth, glowing eyes, and twisting tails, it knows no mercy, no glory, only a devouring hunger.

In its midst stand Hugo and Amicia. Orphaned. Lost. Alone, but together. They must fight to survive.

“The idea sprouted in the vivid glow of torches, in the heart of the crude and raw middle age that fascinates us all. Hugo, the overprotected little brother and his rebellious big sister, Amicia, took life under our keyboards,

our pencils,

our lines of code.”

David Dedeine, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer

& Sebastian Wloch, Co-founder and CEO at Asobo Studio

Dark Ages

“Before the rats, it’s first and foremost the story of Hugo and Amicia. It’s the collision between the innocence of two children and their relationship, and the rest of the world: a historically crude Middle-Age, made even more cruel by the rats and a quite special Inquisition.”

Kevin Choteau, Game Director

“It is a fantasized version of history, akin to a tale. A tale about the Plague, filled with historical facts and anecdotes engraved in an environment we tried to make as realistic as possible."

Brice Davin, Executive Producer

Of light and shadows

“It’s definitely a dark game. We are coldly telling the harsh reality of the world of that time. However, there is no wanton violence. Amicia will have to take decisions that will cost her part of her soul. It’s a theme we explore in our game: how far will she go in order to survive?”

Aurélie Belzanne, Head of Communication

“Rats are the embodiment of the plague, the physical interpretation of an intangible disease. It’s the element from history that we transformed to give it something more fantastic. they are both an obstacle for the player, a key narration element, and a triggering factor.”

Kevin Choteau, Game Director

CHARACTERS

Amicia and Hugo De Rune

“Amicia is a young, headstrong girl with an assertive personality. She wants a life filled with adventure. She shows a progressive attitude, but she is also quite egocentric. She’s not used to sharing or opening herself to others, which will be a real challenge for her.”

Sébastien Renard, Narrative Designer

“Hugo has been isolated from the rest of the world since his birth. He’s afflicted by a mysterious illness and takes up all of his mother’s attention. It has given birth to jealousy in Amicia and contributes to creating a tangible tension between the two kids - who effectively barely know each other.”

Sébastien Renard, Narrative Designer

The De Rune Family

“Béatrice De Rune is almost exclusively taking care of Hugo, neglecting her daughter. She has knowledge in alchemy, taught by her mentor, a physician named Laurentius. Her knowledge allows her to treat the illness that manifests in her son, who has been in quasi-quarantine since his birth.”

Sébastien Renard, Narrative Designer

The Inquisition

“The Inquisition is first and foremost a symbol: that of fear. At its head, Vitalis is ahead of his time. He’s motivated by faith, but a very personal kind of faith. And even if his methods are brutal, he’s convinced his work is for the greater good.”

Sébastien Renard, Narrative Designer

The orphans

“The orphans appeared very early in the concept and contribute to our exploration of the childhood theme. We needed to broaden the spectrum of personalities, so Amicia and Hugo will meet several of them, each with their own personality.”

Kevin Choteau, Game Director

ENVIRONMENTS

“We took heavy inspiration from classical paintings, like those from artist Claude Lorrain, a 16th century painter, to create our environments. There is a certain shade and color in his paintings, with soft and orangish skies that give a stroke of romanticism and oneirism to the picture."

Olivier Ponsonnet, Art Director

“We took inspiration from real events from this time, such as the Hundred Years' War. We have an entire section of the game happening on a battlefield, right after a battle. The arrival there, we composed it like a painting. It is a very strong moment in the game.”

Olivier Ponsonnet, Art Director

“We are living in a region of France rich with old villages and fortified castles from the 14th century. We took our inspiration from these places to immerse the player in a genuine, faithful world. When we created the first village, we looked for something more mineral. A village on a steep hill and cliff, with an ascent toward a church with lots of narrow alleys, and a lot of stone. We wanted to convey what we feel today when we visit villages dating from back then.”

Olivier Ponsonnet, Art Director

“We needed to contrast reality with oneirism, so we did a lot of research on documentaries and historical movies about World War 2. They are often raw, with strong mist, which separate planes of focus. From a very precise image, we transition to something more illustrative. It is something that appears often in the game, a very heavy mist that is also an incarnation of the plague surrounding the children.”